The federal government has threatened to revoke some dormant oil blocs from the owners, over failure to develop them.
Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, according to a statement by his media aide, Nneamaka Okafor, issued the threat while addressing a Cross Industry Group meeting held in Florence, Italy, organised by IOCs operating in Nigeria, on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on challenges, expectations, and strategies to enhance the sector’s contributions to domestic energy needs and regional expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilising an asset and it remains underdeveloped for decades, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country.
“We encourage industry players to explore collaborative measures such as shared resources for contiguous assets, farm-outs, and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production. Otherwise, like any responsible government, we will take back these assets and allocate them to those willing to go to work,” the statement quoted the minister to have said at the meeting.
He also urged operators to consider farm-out agreements where assets are close to existing infrastructure, rather than incurring high costs on new floating production storage and offloading units.
Lokpobiri also called on international oil companies operating in Nigeria to ramp up investment in the oil and gas industry, pointing out that the current administration has provided every necessary incentive to ensure seamless and profitable operations.
With a production target of 2.06 million barrels per day in 2025, Lokpobiri said the government will begin implementing the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act in line with the drive to boost oil production.
According to the minister, while IOCs have pointed to engineering, procurement, and construction contractors as a challenge, EPCs will only commit when they see strong investment decisions from industry players.
“The government has done its part by providing the requisite and investment-friendly fiscal policies, including the president’s executive order incentivising deepwater investments. Now, the ball is in the court of the IOCs and other operators to make strategic investment decisions that will drive increased production and sustainability in the sector,” he added.
Lokpobiri also emphasised the need for IOCs to support local refining efforts, noting that more refineries are coming upstream and will require a steady supply of crude oil.
To make this easy and possible, he emphasised that ramping up production will enable Nigeria to meet both local and international obligations.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS, Osagie Osunbor, commended the Minister for his direct engagement with industry players and for the Federal Government’s continued efforts in advancing the sector.
